Tetraferriphlogopite

specimen number:
2354050

location:
Kovdor, Kovdorsky, Murmansk Oblast, Russia

description:
Reddish black lustrous micaceous grouping of crystals with little attached matrix. Quite nice for the species.

Located within the Kola Peninsula, the Kovdor Massif in the Kovdorsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia, is a world-class alkaline-ultramafic and carbonatite igneous intrusion famous for its rich deposits of iron, apatite, phlogopite, and vermiculite. Mining operations in Kovdor began in the mid-twentieth century following the discovery of extensive magnetitic iron ores, later evolving into major open-pit operations that also produce apatite concentrates and industrial mica. Kovdor is famous among collectors as the type locality for tetraferriphlogopite, a reddish-brown to dark brownish-black mica-group silicate mineral enriched in ferric iron. The mineral typically forms sharp platy crystals, micaceous sheets, or coarse aggregates within Kovdor carbonatites and skarn-like contacts, making the area a prized locality for rare mineral specimens.

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